Stampless Cover Help Please

A couple of questions about covers in general. Are stamped envelopes the only envelopes that have a watermark or are all envelopes suppose to have a watermark?
Would this envelope be laid paper or is laid paper like the laid paper in stamps with lines running up and down or cross ways side to side? The reason I ask is there is not a watermark on this envelope. I think the A.E.F. is neat with the eagle. Al most hitting a 100 years

Thanks in advance for you help and knowledge

There's no reason why an envelope should have a watermark. The cheaper the paper and product, the less likely it may be to have a watermark.

Geoffha thanks for your reply. I thought it was just an envelope but had to ask about the water mark.

Thanks again Geoffha

that's a nice WWI military cover. you should google the sender and recipient. we may make a postal historian out of you.

As was mentioned, it is just an ordinary envelope that one could buy in any store that sold paper and envelopes just like today where you can go to Staples or some such store and buy all of the plain envelopes you like and pay more for the fancy ones and less for the plain ones. The cheaper the paper, the less likely it was to have a watermark and optimizing profits is what most companies and retail stores try to do. There is no significance to it not having a watermark other than to indicate the grade of the paper used by some company that made this envelope was on the lower end of the scale.

This cover was mailed shortly before the end of the war which happened on November 11, 1918. Like every cover mailed by an enlisted man during the war it was censored by his commanding officer - usually a lieutenant. Officers censored their own mail. During the war, active duty soldiers and sailors could mail letters with no postage which is why there is no stamp on this cover. This particular one was sent by a private in the U.S. Army 26th Engineers. There is a book that was published on this unit: http://www.genealogycenter.info/mil...ngineers.php

Collecting war time censored mail is a big and fun collecting interest area. There are a number of books and catalogs on the subject and the number of different varieties is enormous making it a never ending quest for a collector. In addition to the different military post office markings, many collectors also like to collect cards and covers from the more romantic and interesting soldiers and sailors. For example, this one came from a private in an Engineering unit which is not as sought after as something like an aviation unit or from a female nurse, or a tank unit, or a marine corps unit, or a submarine instead of a ship, etc.

Thank you jamesw and Kimo. I figured it was an cheap envelope. I knew about the free mail from the soldiers during the war and about it being censored and how upper brass censored their own mail. I have a lot of WW1 letters and V mail covers with letters still in them. A very interesting read some of them. Kimo the private is a great great uncle that went on to being a Lt. Colonel. I like looking at the covers seeing where he was stationed and what they did during the war.
Thank both of you it is really appreciated.
Newby

Newby, it is really nice to have that letter and cover of your great great uncle. A fine century old piece of your family history. Recently I discovered a Christmas card and letter in a soldier letter from my cousin to our grandmother. I am going to mail it to his son, who has no such memento of his father's service in Belgium during World War II.

Thank you Hoxsie454. I believe he would really appreciate that.
Newby.